Six years ago, I covered several of the arguments some leftists use to justify their decision to vote Democratic. In that series, I looked at arguments for the conclusion that we should vote Democratic because Democrats create better ‘organizing conditions’ than Republicans. Angela Davis* stands out prominently among these leftists, arguing for the need to avoid the (in her view) fascist organizing conditions found under the GOP.
In fact, these arguments serve as a psychologically satisfying excuse for voting for candidates of a party that opposes socialism at its core. The arguments carry just enough of a veneer of Marxist concern for historical and material conditions that it makes us forget its actual material impact. Namely, they allow the Democratic Party to march to the right and take its left flank for granted.
In the earlier article, I pointed out that the term ‘organizing conditions’ picks out a complicated set of things. Democrats are better than Republicans on policy. Under them, the left can push for incremental, positive change. But motivation is far trickier. It’s usually easier to recruit new leftists under Republican power. And no Republican created more leftists than Donald Trump.
There’s another deep flaw, however, with the ‘organizing conditions’ argument. And this one cuts directly at the heart of its usefulness as an argument about how we should vote.
It’s this: utter unpredictability. We simply don’t know which presidential candidates will create better organizing conditions for the left. It depends on factors outside of our control and not knowable for months – even years! – after the election.
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